Systems and methods for computational design and modeling of buildings

1. A computer-assisted method of automatically generating a design for a self-supporting building that comprises structurally supportive building panels of sheet material, at least some of said building panels including curved sections, and for generating a three-dimensional image of said design, said method comprising:

receiving first building information via a first graphical user interface of a computer, said first building information comprising a length of a building to be designed, a width of said building, a total height of said building and a wall height of said building;

determining with said computer whether said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and a selectable building shape comprising at least one curved portion yield a valid set of building parameters, said selectable building shape being either computer-specified or user-specified;

if the set of building parameters is valid, generating with said computer a design of said building including self-supporting wall portions and a self-supporting roof portion that do not require structural support posts or beams, using minimum structural information consisting of said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and said selectable building shape; generating a first image of said design; performing a structural analysis of said design;

determining whether said structural analysis satisfies one or more requirements;

generating with said computer a second image of said building, the second image being a three-dimensional image and being different from the first image; and

displaying said second image at a second graphical user interface at said computer, said second user interface configured to permit a user to modify said second image to include one or more predefined building elements.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving at the first graphical user interface of said computer position information specifying a position of a support member to be suspended from the roof portion, said position being expressed in terms of a lateral distance from a predetermined location on said roof portion, said roof portion including a curved portion between said predetermined location and said position;

determining a placement location at which to place said support member on a panel of said roof portion wherein said placement location is expressed in terms of a distance along said panel taking into account said curved portion of said roof portion; and

outputting said placement location at said graphical user interface.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating and outputting a bill of materials for construction of said building.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said shape comprises a circular shape, a double radius shape, or a gable shape.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said predefined building elements comprise one or more doors or windows.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising receiving user-selected end wall information at the first graphical user interface for selecting an approach for positioning seams between building panels at an end wall of said design, and generating an end wall configuration based upon the user-selected end wall information.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising receiving user input specifying a position of an interior support column to be added to the design of the building, and performing said structural analysis of the design with the structural support provided by the support column.

8. A system for automatically generating a design for a self-supporting building that comprises structurally supportive building panels of sheet material, at least some of said building panels including curved sections, and for generating a three-dimensional image of said design, said system comprising: a processing system; and a memory coupled to the processing system, wherein the processing system is configured to:

receive first building information via a first graphical user interface, said first building information comprising a length of a building to be designed, a width of said building, a total height of said building and a wall height of said building;

determine whether said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and a selectable building shape comprising at least one curved portion yield a valid set of building parameters, said selectable building shape being either computer-specified or user-specified;

if the set of building parameters is valid, generate a design of said building including self-supporting wall portions and a self-supporting roof portion that do not require structural support posts or beams, using minimum structural information consisting of said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and said selectable building shape;

generate a first image of said design;

perform a structural analysis of said design;

determine whether said structural analysis satisfies one or more requirements;

generate a second image of said building, the second image being a three-dimensional image and being different from the first image; and

display said second image at a second graphical user interface, said second user interface configured to permit a user to modify said second image to include one or more predefined building elements.

9. The system of claim 8 , the processing system being configured to:

receive at the first graphical user interface position information specifying a position of a support member to be suspended from the roof portion, said position being expressed in terms of a lateral distance from a predetermined location on said roof portion, said roof portion including a curved portion between said predetermined location and said position;

determine a placement location at which to place said support member on a panel of said roof portion wherein said placement location is expressed in terms of a distance along said panel taking into account said curved portion of said roof portion; and

output said placement location at said graphical user interface.

10. The system of claim 8 , the processing system being configured to generate and output a bill of materials for construction of said building.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein said shape comprises a circular shape, a double radius shape, or a gable shape.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein said predefined building elements comprise one or more doors or windows.

13. The system of claim 8 , the processing system being configured to receive user-selected end wall information at the first graphical user interface for selecting an approach for positioning seams between building panels at an end wall of said design, and generate an end wall configuration based upon the user-selected end wall information.

14. The system of claim 8 , the processing system being configured to receive user input specifying a position of an interior support column to be added to the design of the building and to perform said structural analysis of the design with the structural support provided by the support column.

15. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium that comprises computer readable program code embodied therein for automatically generating a design for a building that comprises structurally supportive building panels of sheet material, at least some of said building panels including curved sections, and for generating a three-dimensional image of said design, said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to:

receive first building information via a first graphical user interface, said first building information comprising a length of a building to be designed, a width of said building, a total height of said building and a wall height of said building;

determine whether said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and a selectable building shape comprising at least one curved portion yield a valid set of building parameters, said selectable building shape being either computer-specified or user-specified;

if the set of building parameters is valid, generate a design of said building including self-supporting wall portions and a self-supporting roof portion that do not require structural support posts or beams, using minimum structural information consisting of said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and said selectable building shape;

generate a first image of said design;

perform a structural analysis of said design;

determine whether said structural analysis satisfies one or more requirements;

generate a second image of said building, the second image being a three-dimensional image and being different from the first image; and

display said second image at a second graphical user interface at said computer, said second user interface configured to permit a user to modify said second image to include one or more predefined building elements.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to:

receive at the first graphical user interface position information specifying a position of a support member to be suspended from the roof portion, said position being expressed in terms of a lateral distance from a predetermined location on said roof portion, said roof portion including a curved portion between said predetermined location and said position;

determine a placement location at which to place said support member on a panel of said roof portion wherein said placement location is expressed in terms of a distance along said panel taking into account said curved portion of said roof portion; and

output said placement location at said graphical user interface.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to generate and output a bill of materials for construction of said building.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein said shape comprises a circular shape, a double radius shape, or a gable shape.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , wherein said predefined building elements comprise one or more doors or windows.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to receive user-selected end wall information at the first graphical user interface for selecting an approach for positioning seams between building panels at an end wall of said design, and generate an end wall configuration based upon the user-selected end wall information.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 15 , said computer readable program code adapted to a cause a processing system to receive user input specifying a position of an interior support column to be added to the design of the building and to perform said structural analysis of the design with the structural support provided by the support column.

22. A computer-assisted method of automatically generating a design for a self-supporting building comprising structurally supportive building panels of sheet material, at least some of said building panels including curved sections, and for generating a three-dimensional image of said design, said method comprising:

receiving first building information via a graphical user interface of a computer, said first building information comprising a length of a building to be designed, a width of said building, a total height of said building and a wall height of said building;

determining with said computer whether said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and a selectable building shape comprising at least one curved portion yield a valid set of building parameters, said selectable building shape being either computer-specified or user-specified;

if the set of building parameters is valid, generating with said computer a design of said building including self-supporting wall portions and a self-supporting roof portion that do not require structural support posts or beams, using minimum information consisting of said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and said selectable building shape;

generating an image of said design;

performing a structural analysis of said design;

determining whether said structural analysis satisfies one or more requirements;

receiving at the graphical user interface of said computer an input specifying a position of a support member to be suspended from the roof portion, said position being expressed in terms of a lateral distance from a predetermined location on said roof portion, said roof portion including a curved portion between said predetermined location and said position;

determining a placement location at which to place said support member on a panel of said roof portion wherein said placement location is expressed in terms of a distance along said panel taking into account said curved portion of said roof portion; and

outputting said placement location at said graphical user interface.

23. The method of claim 22 , further comprising generating and outputting a bill of materials for construction of said building.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein said shape comprises a circular shape, a double radius shape, or a gable shape.

25. The method of claim 22 , wherein said predefined building elements comprise one or more doors or windows.

26. The method of claim 22 , comprising receiving user-selected end wall information at the graphical user interface for selecting an approach for positioning seams between building panels at an end wall of said design, and generating an end wall configuration based upon the user-selected end wall information.

27. The method of claim 22 , comprising receiving user input specifying a position of an interior support column to be added to the design of the building, and performing said structural analysis of the design with the structural support provided by the support column.

28. A system for automatically generating a design for a self-supporting building that comprises structurally supportive building panels of sheet material, at least some of said building panels including curved sections, and for generating a three-dimensional image of said design, said system comprising:

a processing system; and

a memory coupled to the processing system,

wherein the processing system is configured to:

receive first building information via a graphical user interface, said first building information comprising a length of a building to be designed, a width of said building, a total height of said building and a wall height of said building;

determine whether said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and a selectable building shape comprising at least one curved portion yield a valid set of building parameters, said selectable building shape being either computer-specified or user-specified;

if the set of building parameters is valid, generate a design of said building including self-supporting wall portions and a self-supporting roof portion that do not require structural support posts or beams, using minimum information consisting of said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and said selectable building shape;

generate an image of said design;

perform a structural analysis of said design;

determine whether said structural analysis satisfies one or more requirements;

receive at the graphical user interface an input specifying a position of a support member to be suspended from the roof portion, said position being expressed in terms of a lateral distance from a predetermined location on said roof portion, said roof portion including a curved portion between said predetermined location and said position;

determine a placement location at which to place said support member on a panel of said roof portion wherein said placement location is expressed in terms of a distance along said panel taking into account said curved portion of said roof portion; and

output said placement location at said graphical user interface.

29. The system of claim 28 , the processing system being configured to generate and output a bill of materials for construction of said building.

30. The system of claim 28 , wherein said shape comprises a circular shape, a double radius shape, or a gable shape.

31. The system of claim 28 , wherein said predefined building elements comprise one or more doors or windows.

32. The system of claim 28 , the processing system being configured to receive user-selected end wall information at the graphical user interface for selecting an approach for positioning seams between building panels at an end wall of said design, and generate an end wall configuration based upon the user-selected end wall information.

33. The system of claim 28 , the processing system being configured to receive user input specifying a position of an interior support column to be added to the design of the building and to perform said structural analysis of the design with the structural support provided by the support column.

34. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that comprises computer readable program code embodied therein for automatically generating a design for a self-supporting building that comprises structurally supportive building panels of sheet material, at least some of said building panels including curved sections, and for generating a three-dimensional image of said design, said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to:

receive first building information via a graphical user interface, said first building information comprising a length of a building to be designed, a width of said building, a total height of said building and a wall height of said building;

determine whether said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and a selectable building shape comprising at least one curved portion yield a valid set of building parameters, said selectable building shape being either computer-specified or user-specified;

if the set of building parameters is valid, generate a design of said building including self-supporting wall portions and a self-supporting roof portion that do not require structural support posts or beams, using minimum information consisting of said length, said width, said total height, said wall height, and said selectable building shape;

generate an image of said design;

perform a structural analysis of said design;

determine whether said structural analysis satisfies one or more requirements;

receive at the graphical user interface an input specifying a position of a support member to be suspended from the roof portion, said position being expressed in terms of a lateral distance from a predetermined location on said roof portion, said roof portion including a curved portion between said predetermined location and said position;

determine a placement location at which to place said support member on a panel of said roof portion wherein said placement location is expressed in terms of a distance along said panel taking into account said curved portion of said roof portion; and

output said placement location at said graphical user interface.

35. The article of manufacture of claim 34 , said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to generate and output a bill of materials for construction of said building.

36. The article of manufacture of claim 34 , wherein said shape comprises a circular shape, a double radius shape, or a gable shape.

37. The article of manufacture of claim 34 , wherein said predefined building elements comprise one or more doors or windows.

38. The article of manufacture of claim 34 , said computer readable program code adapted to cause a processing system to receive user-selected end wall information at the graphical user interface for selecting an approach for positioning seams between building panels at an end wall of said design, and generate an end wall configuration based upon the user-selected end wall information.

39. The article of manufacture of claim 34 , said computer readable program code adapted to a cause a processing system to receive user input specifying a position of an interior support column to be added to the design of the building and to perform said structural analysis of the design with the structural support provided by the support column.